Saturday, February 25, 2017

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez is the new DNC Chair.

After a difficult 2016 campaign that saw them lose in the White House, both chambers of Congress and in state houses across the country, Democrats elected Tom Perez, the former labor secretary during the Obama administration, to lead the Democratic National Committee on Saturday.

Perez won in the second round of voting during the 2017 Winter DNC Meeting in Atlanta, earning 235 votes from the 447 DNC members — the voting bloc that decides the chairmanship. Perez was considered the heavy favorite of the Democratic establishment.

Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, the preferred candidate of the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, came in second, earning 200 votes in the second round of votes. Half ballots are given to Democrats voting abroad.

I have to admit that though I followed this with interest I really did not have a dog in this fight.

In my opinion all that matters with a new DNC head is that they recognize what is happening all across the country right now in response to the election of Donald Trump and that they find some way to harness that activism and organize it into overwhelming voter turnout for the next election cycles.

With that goal in mind I think that having somebody from the Obama administration is not exactly a bad thing since it means that our former President will likely become more involved, and with his sky rocketing approval numbers that can only help moving forward.

50 comments:

I was hoping for Perez because he can devote full time to the position. I also believe that he is a good, intelligent man and as the former Secretary of Labor, he certainly understands working people. His choice of Ellison for deputy was a wise move to assuage the Bernie Bloc. I believe Perez will work with all factions of the Democratic Party and bring them together in time to reclaim the House and Senate in 2018.

I don't think it's just to assuage Bernie followers. Many of us progressives have respected Keith for a long time, his dedication to serving the people is astounding. I think these two good men can lead the DNC well.

I agree with you, Nikki Munson at 7:45 pm. Had Bernie Sanders decided to remain a member of the Democratic Party then his opinion on Democratic Party matters would have some impact. But he did not decide that.Beaglemom

As much as I like Ellison, I was always concerned that he might not be able to devote enough time to the big job ahead. One of the biggest complaints about DWS was that she was "part time." I agree that it was SMART to immediately include him in the DNC going forward as a deputy chair. Time to channel the nationwide sentiment against dumpster, fence, and the rethugs. Thugs dragging their feet about investigating dumpster etal will cause the backlash to build until they can't hold it back and the timing may prove wonderfully useful to the run up to 2018. We NEED SMART tacticians so that we don't end up winning a few battles but losing the war.

“I would like to begin by making a motion, it is a motion that I have discussed with a good friend, and his name is Keith Ellison,” he said during his acceptance speech, according to TheHill.com.

“The motion I would like to make to the body is a motion suspending the rules, if I may, to appoint Keith Ellison deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee,” Perez said as the room erupted in cheers.

2016 Democratic Presidential nominee and popular vote winner Hillary Clinton congratulated a united Tom Perez and Keith Ellison after Perez won as DNC Chair and immediately appointed his opponent Ellison as Deputy.

...A reply to Clinton by Jordan Uhl pointed out that the two candidates had switched their buttons (a move that upset Republican strategists who love to push “Dems in Disarray” to distract from their Putin Trojan Horse):

Keith Ellison is a State's Man, with integrity, smart and he got a set on him. The jury is still out on Tom Perez, but unlike Keith Perez won't have no problem getting getting in the mud with the gop. They both have backbones and will do the right thing but I think Perez will take it to them to win back those seats, kind of like good cop bad cop

...The site channels the Onion’s humor, the National Enquirer’s whacked-out headlines and the Huffington Post’s progressive indignation. It’s a parody-based parallel universe whose creator intended for it to serve as a trap for Trump supporters online, with a mocking masthead that says: “President Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

In recent days, Breitbart, Fox News, Yiannopoulos and the Daily Caller singled out the site as “fake news” and a place for liberals to seek “refuge from reality.”

The site’s founder — a 30-year-old East Coast writer who asked spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of becoming a conservative target in real life — told The Washington Post that her conservative critics are partially correct: Hillarybeattrump is meant to serve as a refuge from reality for liberals.

But mostly, she said, it’s a chance to troll the opposition whose party actually won the presidency.

“I wanted it to be a joyful middle finger,” the site’s founder said when reached by phone. “I didn’t want to wallow or argue with people who can’t be argued with. There’s something about humor as confrontation that I instinctively thought would work — like a good right jab that I could keep using.”

Grassroots campaign encourages Twitter users to name and shame advertisers

Another 100 companies have reportedly pulled their advertising from the far-right news site Breitbart, as the momentum builds behind a grassroots campaign calling on advertisers to boycott the site.

Audi, Visa, T Mobile and Lufthansa have joined the growing list of companies to withdraw, according to Sleeping Giants, the group behind the campaign, which claims that at least 1,250 advertisers no longer wish to be associated with it.

Campaigners have successfully encouraged Twitter users to name and shame companies who advertise on the site by posting screenshots of Breitbart ads.

Melania's company never got off the ground. Ivanka's is floundering and I wouldn't be surprised if she went bankrupt but failed to revive it. Unlike her Dad.

As for Agent Orange, it might not be possible to take down the entire Trump corporation, but it's value can be lowered considerably. Future ventures can also be stifled when prospective partners see that they'll get a negative return on their investment. No one likes Trump enough to fill his money hole with their hard earned money. Or money of any kind.

Win or lose, Trump has destroyed the value of his "brand."

Poor Eric and Jr. might have to work for a living. Ivanka will simply sponge off her husband.

It will be sucking money from them until they finally decide no more of this shit.

If there is one thing Right Wing Republicans are it's both greedy and stingy as shit. They're fine spending other people's money but when it comes to their own? If they don't see a big return on their investment, they move on to something that pays better.

Give up that Bernie bashing shit. You people would cut off your whole face to spite a zit.

Democrat or not, he's doing more for the Democrats and he's not wearing blinders or rose colored glasses.

The post election polling showed that what Tom Perez is saying NOW didn't make a difference then and won't make any difference now. That's not why Hillary lost.

It wasn't about NOT GETTING THE MESSAGE OUT.

And what he said is just more of the same post election excuse shit.

Only time will tell if Ellison is able to accomplish anything that will make a difference in his subservient token role. So Perez can take the credit.

It was just a show to "unify" the party but the message is the same crap. If the Democrats don't get over their ASS u me ing that Democrats will just vote for them no matter what and that the big cities will carry them, they'll never come back.

That's why whoever wrote Trump's tweet was fall all over themselves congratulating Perez. They know the Democrats just hung themselves and it's only for the Republicans to use them as a piñata.

The two-term amendment came about after Franklin Roosevelt was elected four times. It's a good thing for the country that he was elected four times, given the times: first the Great Depression and then WWII. The country had leadership it admired and trusted. The two-term limit saved us from a continuation of the destructive path George W. Bush was on and that's a very good thing.Beaglemom

I Went To An Indivisible Meeting. Here’s What I Found.Believe it or not, the organization isn’t comprised of lawless, anti-American cynics, as Rep. Jason Chaffetz would have you believe.

...My interest was piqued. Leftist mobs? Soros-paid protesters? There just had to be a juicy story here. So I decided to infiltrate Indivisible and investigate. These “professional agitators” congregate in public Facebook groups and one was hosting a local meeting near me, in a Unitarian church of all places. Aha! I thought. Using religion as a cover for intrusive activism. Very clever people.

...When I arrived, I drove behind the building looking for the buses that were used to transport out-of-state members. I didn’t find anything but an army of crusty Subarus overflowing into the the parking lot at the Kentucky Fried Chicken next door. Probably a front for something nefarious. (Note to self: Google #KFCGate when you get home.)

It was a packed house when I arrived, but I was able to slip into a chair in the back unnoticed. I brought a bottle of San Pelligrino and sipped on it nervously. I’m blending in, right?

...Indivisible describes themselves as an “organized resistance to the Trump agenda.” If you’d like to learn more about the grassroots effort, you can visit indivisibleguide.com to find a chapter near you. Or drop into a meeting. For reals. Unlike our congressional representatives, Indivisible doesn’t seem to mind uninvited guests.

Well, I was mighty proud of my party today. I loved seeing how everyone handled themselves, like when Donna Brazile made sure that there was a mic for people to be heard and she agreed to take a vote on someone's idea of foregoing the speeches for some positions. I was torn between Perez and Ellison but had leaned toward Perez and more so this week when I saw him on TV a few more times. And I think Ellison has a huge future ahead of him and that in the long run it may turn out to be a good thing that he didn't get the most votes today.

Keep beating that dead horse, honey. If you can't help get the fuck out of the way and go sit in the corner sucking your damned thumb. Let the adults in the room get to work without worrying abut your sorry ass.

Try listening to BBC news for a change. It's on PBS on Saturday nights on the radio.

Listen to what their political commentators are saying about Perez.

They're not stupid. In fact. They have a more astute and unbiased opinion being OUTSIDE the U.S. entirely. They are neither Democrats nor Republicans.

Perez is basically business as usual.

That is not going to get it done.

"Getting the message out" is not why Hillary failed and it won't win any votes. Neither will assuming registered Democrats will continue to vote Democratic nor that the votes of the big cities (mostly Democratic) will overwhelm the rural Republican vote.

Perez is a Clinton camp insider. I see nothing to indicate anything is going to change for 2018. The Democrats will be handed their asses on a platter, probably branded with the Trump name, and things will get worse. Then you can kiss 2020 goodbye along with any hope of regaining control in time to save the country both figuratively and literally.

Try pulling your heads out your self-righteous asses and going a little more global before you form your opinions.

Oh, and 3:44. The odds are I've been voting longer than you've been born, JUNIOR. I don't see any adults in this room. Just a bunch of gang members looking to beat on anyone that dares to question their leader. Territorial. Just as mature as the orange man baby shitting all over the Oval Office.

Guess you all didn't do any research on Tom Perez before you dissed him. Long and distinguished champion of civil rights and a progressive labor secretary. Honestly, some dems are just behaving like spoiled children. Get over it already and support the efforts of the DNC. It is the only party that can stop Trump. Focus, people.

An army of volunteers, many from out of state, flooded the state Senate district for Stephanie Hansen.

In the most expensive special election in Delaware history ― a contest to decide which party controls the state Senate ― Democrat Stephanie Hansen was on track to annihilate her Republican rival on the back of extraordinary turnout.

The last time her opponent, John Marino, ran in this district, in 2014, he lost by just 2 points. Hansen’s 58-42 percent victory over Marino on Saturday ensured that Democrats will maintain control of the state Senate. It also notched a big Donald Trump-era win for a new generation of Democratic activists shocked into action by the November election.

“We turned back that win from Washington and made sure it won’t hit Delaware,” Hansen said in her victory speech Saturday night.

Here comes the police state: New state laws aim for brutal crackdown on protesters — with help from the cops

The rise of right-wing populism in the United States—from the White House to state legislatures—has been met with public resistance on a stunning scale. Millions have taken to the streets, staged direct actions and flooded airports to resist a flurry of presidential decrees targeting undocumented, black, refugee, LGBTQ and poor communities. And long before Trump took the White House, the Black Lives Matter movement and indigenous water protectors at Standing Rock were leading the way with sustained mobilizations in the face of staggering repression.

Now, under cover of the Trump administration’s “law and order” platform, Republican lawmakers at the state level—often with the backing of police unions—are advancing a spate of bills aimed at crushing this groundswell. The proposed legislation would impose draconian penalties on protest organizers and participants, expanding local powers to put demonstrators in jail, seize their assets and further criminalize property destruction.

In recent weeks and months, politicians in at least 11 states—Minnesota, Washington, Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, Indiana, Virginia, Colorado, Missouri, North Carolina and Arizona—have either introduced or threatened to introduce bills that make it more dangerous or costly to attend protests, or be anywhere near them. One bill recently proposed in North Dakota, and clearly aimed at Standing Rock resistance, would have expanded protections for drivers who “accidentally” hit and kill protesters. While the legislation failed earlier this month, it nonetheless reflects a troubling political push to snuff out dissent.

Using racketeering laws to go after protesters’ assets

A bill that just passed through the Arizona State Senate would expand the state’s racketeering laws on organized crime to “rioting,” broadly defined to include acts that result in property destruction. This move would broaden the powers of authorities to target protest organizers and participants—and even seize their assets.

....“A person commits riot if, with two or more other persons acting together, such person recklessly uses force or violence or threatens to use force or violence, if such threat is accompanied by immediate power of execution, which either disturbs the public peace or results in damage to the property of another person,” the bill states.

The Senate fact sheet notes that including “rioting” under racketeering statutes would provide prosecutors with “options that are generally not available under other types of criminal statutes, such as forfeitures, including the ability to confiscate the fruits of criminal activity from those convicted of racketeering offenses.”

The legislation itself emanates from false conspiracy theories. “Sen. Sonny Borrelli has said this is in response to unverified claims that protesters are being paid,” Kilar said. “He is using this false paid-protesters argument to connect his bill to anti-racketeering laws, which are targeting the financial incentives of criminal enterprises.”

The bill, which is headed to the Arizona House, also aims to blur the line between rioting and terrorism. According to Kilar, “If this bill were to pass, riots would join terrorism as the only racketeering crimes under Arizona state law that would not require financial incentive.”

The legislation appears to be aimed at mass mobilizations to oppose deportations.

The bill wending its way through Arizona’s legislature is not an isolated case.

I watch Ellison on one of the Sunday shows and could not believe how totally unprepared he was to discuss a major topic; he lost a perfect chance to present the opposing view and instead seemed like a bumbling idiot.

I didn’t know at the time he was running for DNC chair, but his performance was so bad and disorganized, I glad he didn’t win.

About Me

This blog is dedicated to finding the truth, exposing the lies, and holding our politicians and leaders accountable when they fall far short of the promises that they have made to both my fellow Alaskans and the American people.